In February, we had the pleasure of hosting Pascale Roger-McKeever at Carnegie Stage for her Pittsburgh premiere of The Ins and Outs of Fingers, Spoons, and Open Marriage.
This one-woman play explores the life of a mid-40s Mom with a traumatic past who enters a sexual awakening after she and her hubby agree to experiment with an open marriage. This show offers important, thought-provoking messages through mom’s banter, and Pascale’s methodical writing confronts us with sensitive topics as we dive into the complexities of Mom’s life; how she overcomes the past, conquers the present, and actively works to ensure a safe and healthy future for her and her son.
As Mom tells her story, we share her excitement and fascination as she explores uncharted emotional territories in the new-found freedom of her open marriage after sparking an enchanting intimate relationship with a friendly neighbor.
While she is decades into recovery, Mom’s past heavily informs her life today, and this stands out as one of her most notable, respectable, and desirable qualities. Mom has a remarkable sense of self-awareness which she uses as a reference to continue her healing process, proving the strength in individuality and self-reflection. Even with the task of navigating life’s complicated journey, Mom reminds us that her most important relationship is with her Son, and she takes pride in keeping him sheltered from the trauma of her past.
In this 80-minute performance, Mom discovers how to cope with unfamiliar feelings of confidence, self-respect, and intimacy. The nature of Pascale’s writing invites the audience to push past the internalized embarrassment of confronting these deeply personal feelings as Mom exemplifies this admirable aura whilst entering a new era of self-discovery. At the end, I couldn’t help but feel genuinely proud of Mom and her growth. Mom’s character development demonstrates a healthy way of dissecting problems from our past by applying our knowledge from our experiences to our healing process, and this is certainly one of the most important lessons I will take from this story.
Now that I have the pleasure of knowing Pascale and learning more about her writing and performance process, I am excited to see how the show evolves and I am truly grateful for the new knowledge and perspective introduced into my life by Pascale’s art. If you missed her performance at Carnegie Stage this February, I encourage you to take this opportunity to watch from the comfort of your living room.
Click here to buy tickets for the recorded performance
